Coming in December from Down & Out Books: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Joe Clifford

TAMPA, Fla. - Sept. 5, 2018 - PRLog -- Down & Out Books is pleased to announce that THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Joe Clifford will be published on December 3, 2018 in trade paperback and ebook formats.

About THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY …

In the early 2000s, a string of abductions rocked the small upstate town of Reine, New York. Only one girl survived: Alex Salerno. The killer was sent away. Life returned to normal. No more girls would have to die. Until another one did.

It's been twelve years since Kira Shanks was reported missing and presumed dead. Alex Salerno has been living in New York City, piece-mealing a livable wage, trying to forget those three days locked underground and her affair with the married detective who rescued her. When a hometown reporter requests an interview, Alex is drawn back into a dangerous game of show and tell in an insular town where everyone has a secret to hide. As details emerge about the night Kira Shanks went missing, Alex learns why so many are willing to kill to protect it. Can Alex Salerno escape the noose once more in time to reveal the horrific truth?

In the modern vein of Girl on the Train and The Bone Collector, The One That Got Away is a dark, psychological thriller, featuring a compelling, conflicted heroine and a page-turning narrative that races toward its final, shocking conclusion.

Advance praise for THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY …

"A great book! I devoured it. Taut, pacey and with a powerful sense of place, Joe Clifford's The One Got Away is an intelligent and astutely observed piece of American small town noir." —Paula Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of Girl on the Train and Into the Water

"Joe Clifford is a gifted storyteller with a knack for crafting characters who are entirely human. The One That Got Away is dark and unforgiving, a chilling crime novel with the perfect touch of tenderness that will keep readers turning the pages with haste. This is one book you won't be able to put down. —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Every Last Lie

"The mystery of The One That Got Away sucked me in, but it was the emotional punch of Alex Salerno's return home that broke my heart. With its sharply observed characters and setting and crime-thriller pace, its tough exterior belies a vast, unexpected tenderness. I cannot not quit thinking about this book." —Emily Carpenter, author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and The Weight of Lies

"It's not often that I read a top-notch thriller with layers of emotion buried within each page. On the surface, Joe Clifford's story of a young woman who survived a kidnapping and returns to her hometown to investigate a seemingly similar disappearance is compulsively readable, but when you dig a little deeper, you discover there's so much more to unpack. The On That Got Away is by far Clifford's best and most fully realized novel to date, and might well be the most rewarding thriller I've read this year." —Jennifer Hillier, author of Jar of Hearts

"Joe Clifford crafts a unique detective story with a flawed central character in Alex Salerno. His true skill lies in that he was able to make the Northeastern town of Reine into the co-central character, one even more flawed than Alex. Its life is even more sullied, darker and full of worse choices than her's ever could have been, and that is the gritty magic of the book. Read the novel for the last few pages, which are delicious in their noir conclusion." —Ryan Sayles, author of Albatross

Meet the author …

Joe Clifford is the author of several books, including Junkie Love and the Jay Porter Thriller Series, as well as editor of the anthologies Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen; Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash, and Hard Sentences, which he co-edited. Joe's writing can be found at JoeClifford.com.

In its eighth year as an independent publisher of award-winning literary and crime fiction, Down & Out Books (https://downandoutbooks.com) is based in Tampa, Florida. For more information about the book, to request a review copy of the book, or to inquire about an interview with the author, contact lance@downandoutbooks.com.